Evolution Of Mission
Evolution of SNCM in Ahmedabad
When Ahmedabad (also known as the "Manchester of India”) developed industrially, it presented ample employment opportunities to people from many states, including Kerala. Confident seeing the meteoric growth across several industries and mills in the city, many Malayalee families shifted their base to Ahmedabad.
Amongst from these, Malayalees from the Ezhava community started the Shree Narayana Guru Geetha Samajam - a precursor to what we see today as the Shree Narayana movement. The Shree Narayana Guru Geetha Samajam’s activities were limited to social and cultural events and gatherings and had a lower level of impact due to the limited reach of its activities within select communities.
Late Shri K.K. Viswanathan, the former Governor of Gujarat with his exemplary administrative skills, correctly visualized that one of the key problems faced by the organization, in its formative years, was the structure of the organization, which limited its potential and could put up several challenges in its future. A devout follower of Shree Narayana Guru, he proposed several decisive steps to accelerate the growth of the Mission and ensure better width and depth of the Mission’s activities. One of the first steps was the re-christening of Shree Narayana Guru Geetha Samajam to Shree Narayana Cultural Mission (SNCM), Ahmedabad, paving the way of an historic journey.
Thereafter, to promote new perspectives Shri K.K. Viswanathan then stressed on the need to bring in able leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. On his advice and recommendation, Late Shri Nariman J. Cama - a leading industrialist and an eminent personality, was nominated as the President. However, it is a matter on record that he was not the first President. That appointment was preceded by nominations of a few other worthy personalities as the Presidents of SNCM – notable amongst them were Shri N. Natarajan and Shri Nalinbhai K. Patel.
Under the able leadership and efforts of Shri Nariman J. Cama, SNCM ventured into the field of education, thereby greatly augmenting its capability to touch countless lives and provide them opportunities to learn and lay foundation to successful careers. It was during the tenure of Shri Nariman J. Cama (as President) that Shree Narayana Guru Vidhyalaya was established.
A renowned academician of the time, the late Prof. S.R. Thakore succeeded Shri Nariman J. Cama. Subsequently, the late Shri E.N. Surendradas, a senior officer in Oil & Natural Gas Commission took over the charge from Prof. S.R. Thakore.
Former Cabinet Minister in Government of Gujarat and the former President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce - Shri Nalinbhai K. Patel took over as the President of SNCM in 1991. It was during this tenure, the Mission developed at a fast pace and the Shree Narayana Guru Vidhyalaya expanded its offering to cover secondary and higher secondary classes, thereby covering the entire continuum of school education. Shri Nalinbhai K. Patel remained the President of the Mission for over a decade (1991 – 2001), a feat unmatched till 2006, when Shri K.R.S. Dharan, created history by becoming the longest serving President in the history of SNCM from 2006-2018 (he has been re-elected to the post, in 2022).
The formation of Shree Narayana Cultural Mission and its subsequent phenomenal growth would not have been possible, without the outstanding administrative reforms and visionary steps taken by Late Shri K.K. Viswanathan. SNCM today is reaping fruits, of that visionary outlook and restructuring efforts which were implemented under his guidance.
Shri K. K. Viswanathan’s devoted efforts also facilitated SNCM in acquiring land at a premium location in Ahmedabad in close vicinity of other renowned Trusts. The land on which SNCM stands today is where the Guru Mandiram (modelled on the lines of the Gurudevan’s temple at Sivagiri) was built. Opportune here is also to fondly remember the services of Late Shri K. Gangadharan - who dedicated many years of his life serving the Mandiram as its Pujari.
Acquiring land in the city was the beginning of a new era and it placed SNCM on prominent location on the map of Ahmedabad. The establishment of a school adjacent to Guru Mandiram in the same campus was the next big development, one which all the members are extremely proud of. It is pertinent to remember that the road to this development was a huge challenge though and SNCM fondly remembers all members who contributed to make turn this vision into a reality. Despite the daunting challenge of sourcing funds, for the development of the school and its infrastructure, members like Shri N. Soman, Shri T. K. Tulaseedharan who had worked closely with Shri K.K. Vishwanathan, contributed greatly towards this cause. Also worth sincere appreciations are the contributions and selfless service rendered by other like-minded members like Prof. Ravi K., Shri Veera Raghavan K.S., Shri Divakaran C.K., late Shri Gangadharan P., Shri Kuttappan P., Shri Sadanandan K., Shri Janardhanan P.K. Shri Raghunathan K., Shri Raghavan K.K., Shri Ravindranathan T.V., Shri Sadanandan R., Shri Sugunan K.K.,Shri Ravindran P.V., Shri Vijayan K., Shri Dharmadathan K.N., Shri Sukumaran K., Shri Damodaran N., Shri Dattan Narayanan, late Shri Unnkrishnan P.N., Shri Prabhakaran V. D., Shri Samuel P.T., Shri Upendrabhai Bhatt, Shri Dayanandan, Late Shri M.B. Chandran, and many others.
With collective efforts, SNCM’s goal of establishing a school started making progress, slowly, but steadily. The dedicated and persistent efforts finally yielded fruition when the Mission successfully established its first school – the Shree Narayana Guru Vidhyalaya in 1983 in Ahmedabad.